Blizzard head coach Ryan Salvis is very pleased with the start of the team this season, but he refuses to get overexcited because the season is long. Photo Digiphoto – archives.
EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – It’s not just the temperature that has risen in Edmundston, the Blizzard too!
Enjoying a record temperature of 30 degrees Celsius (39 degrees felt) today in Edmundston, the Blizzard hockey team had a great news that awaited it. The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) ranked the Blizzard 16th in the country thanks to Edmundston’s perfect start in the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL).
Ryan Salvis’s squad won its first three games of the reular season, three wins on the road.
Among the top 20 junior A national hockey teams, there are two other teams from the MHL, Yarmouth (6th) and Amherst (14th). And to say that the Amherst Ramblers (identical record of three wins in as many games) and the Blizzard clash in Edmundston’s inaugural game, on Friday, September 29, at 7 :30 pm. Difficult to find better scenario.
Blizzard head coach Ryan Salvis and general manager Stephen MacPherson refuse to get overexcited about the team’s immediate successes.
“We are pleased with the start to the season,” Salvis said. But there are still some areas of our game that need work. This is just a small sample size and the national recognition is very nice but it’s a long season and I guess the goal would be to stay in these rankings as the season progresses. I’m happy for the kids because this is a direct reflection of the hard work they’ve put in over the past month and we must continue to improve as a team every day if we want to contend for a championship.”
GM MacPherson agrees. “It is nice to be in those rankings and be recognized but it is early in the season. We have a big game coming up this weekend against a good Amherst team which will show us where we stand in the league but overall we are very happy with our start. ”
QUICK FACTS – Penticton Vees (British Columbia), Fort McMurray Oil Barons (Alberta) and Melfort Mustangs (Saskatchewan) are respectively the top three teams in the Canadian Junior Hockey League… We expect a lot of spectators for the Blizzard’s local opening game on Friday, September 29 at the Palladium of Saint-Jacques. The game begins at 7:30 pm. It is recommended to arrive early in order to have good spots in the building.
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone